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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · pop · deal · mine · wind · kick · date · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. saw — the tool
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. pop — music
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. deal — to handle
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pop — soda
  24. deal — an agreement

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com